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Prudence, my 87 Town Car

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    Control arm looks real nice after a spritz of black paint.
    ~David~

    My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
    My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

    Originally posted by ootdega
    My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

    Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
    But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

    Originally posted by gadget73
    my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




    Comment


      Thanks. The guy at the Auto Craft shop said it looked like I'd purchased a new arm. I doubt the paint will hold up as well as something from the factory, but any rust protection is better than nothing.

      The car is back in one piece. After maybe four months of sitting, it fired right up. Idle was a little wonky while I ran new trans fluid through the gears, but it's been fine since. Smelled something burning and saw smoke come from somewhere under the car. I was worried it was the trans, but it seems more likely now that it was some coating burning off of the new catalytic converters.

      My alignment, unfortunately but not unexpectedly, is not good. It was late and already dark, so I only drove a couple blocks through the neighborhood, but there was plenty of squeaking coming from the tires. The nearest shop that does alignments is almost 40 miles away. Fortunately, I can get there without getting on the freeway. I haven't tried highway speeds yet, but I figure it's probably not terribly safe with the wheels pointed in random directions.
      1987 Lincoln Town Car - Signature, "Prudence"

      Comment


        Made the trip to Barstow this morning for an alignment. They saw me right away. I watched from the parking lot, the guy doing it never touched the control arms. Caster came in just barely within spec, while camber was okay. The only real adjustment was to the right tie rod to get the toe right.

        Steering still pulls a bit to the left, but it at least feels like it's rolling smoothly. And more importantly, the vibration seems to be gone. So the culprit was either one or several ball joints, or the passenger upper control arm bushings. Probably the ball joints, though.

        At this point I feel confident enough in the car to take it to Phoenix for Thanksgiving. Once we're back I'll probably do the lower control arm bushings, or at least the passenger ones. The alignment comes with a 3,000 mile warranty, too, so I suppose I could take it back and see if they'll realign things.
        1987 Lincoln Town Car - Signature, "Prudence"

        Comment


          Whats the caster like side to side? Forget if it pulls towards the low or high side but either way it pulls. Often they set the caster split slightly to pull a smidge to the left to compensate for road crown. Too much and it climbs over the crown though. Offhand I want to say book calls for no more than a half degree difference side to side but don't quote me on that.
          86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
          5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

          91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

          1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

          Originally posted by phayzer5
          I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

          Comment


            Cross caster is -0.6*. I think the spec actually allows for +-0.75* between them, and I'm sneaking in right on the lower limit. For each wheel camber should be 0.5* +-0.75* and caster at 3*, +1* -0.75*. I had set camber and caster at -0.1* and 3.3* on the left and -0.2* and 3.9* on the right, so just barely within spec. Would it pull less if both values were brought closer to nominal? I don't know. I also don't know whether the shop I went to would've adjusted the upper arm if they had been out of spec. I would've asked, but there was enough of a language barrier that it didn't seem worthwhile.
            1987 Lincoln Town Car - Signature, "Prudence"

            Comment


              I was leafing through the suspension section of the shop manual and found a chart on setting caster and camber using the Ford tool (T79P-3000-A). Most people on eBay and elsewhere want anywhere from $60 to over $150 for it, but I managed to win one for $24 shipped. So hopefully when it arrives I'll be able to adjust the upper control arms per the shop manual chart, then take it back to the alignment shop to reset the toe.

              Though perhaps bad bushings are still to blame for the pull. I have yet to get into the shop to replace the passenger lower control arm bushings, but I think they're the worst of the three remaining arms. The steering might also have something to do with it. It's felt a lot less boosted since April/May, which was about the time the ball joint vibration began, and the pump has recently started leaking a lot more. I'm hoping new hoses, a reseal kit for the pump, and new fluid will bring it back - and maybe even get rid of the whine.

              Rounding out the suspension, I've noticed the car isn't sitting level. This seems to have been a problem even with the first pictures I posted on this thread, but for some reason it's only drawn my attention now. Taking a tape measure from floor to the top of the wheel arches, the fronts sit at 27 1/4", while the rears are an even 26". I believe the arches are the same height for both front and back, so that's a 1 1/4" sag off the rear. Current rear springs look like constant rate, but I think I want variable rate for large trunk loads? Air springs, if I understand correctly, won't clear the frame on a Box?
              1987 Lincoln Town Car - Signature, "Prudence"

              Comment


                Did your car come equipped with faux air ride in the back like mine? I just adjusted the little plunger thing so my car sits level, it was like yours before.
                1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

                Comment


                  It did. There's regular shocks on it now, but the lines and computer module are still there, and I've got the compressor from a '90 that looks like it'll hook up to the stock connector. I haven't checked, but I would imagine the level sensor-thing is still present, too.

                  But I guess I still don't understand the Box air stuff. If the coil springs are determining the ride height, what exactly are air shocks supposed to do? Are they carrying part of the weight of the car? Or are they adjusting their firmness based on how much load is back there?
                  1987 Lincoln Town Car - Signature, "Prudence"

                  Comment


                    they make up for extra weight in the car. Most of the load is carried by the coils, the air shocks just add a little extra height to level things out when needed. Basically exactly like you'd do with manual fill air shocks.
                    86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                    5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                    91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                    1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                    Originally posted by phayzer5
                    I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                    Comment


                      So it sounds like if the car is fully unloaded, the coil springs alone should be able to maintain the stock ride height. Air shocks could probably cover up the difference, but that wouldn't change the fact that the springs are on their way out.

                      From what I've read, it seems like variable rate springs, or cargo coils, are supposed to address the same issue. The air shocks sound like the better system, at least when they're working. If I installed air shocks, should I keep running constant rate springs, or is there any downside to a variable rate spring in addition?
                      1987 Lincoln Town Car - Signature, "Prudence"

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                        My wife and I were out cruising on Sunday when we both smelled what might've been coolant from the air vents. I took a look under the hood but couldn't see any obvious puddles. The freeze plugs, I'm sure, are still leaking. But I gave it another look on Tuesday and discovered a leak at the radiator cap.



                        The cap is a Motorcraft RS-64, so it could be the original. Is this leaking evidence that the cap itself is going bad or do I have some sort of blockage somewhere else in the system?
                        1987 Lincoln Town Car - Signature, "Prudence"

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                          Could pressure test the system or if you get lazy, just replace the cap. They usually have a small rubber seal underneath and that may have gone bad.
                          What I Own: 1993 Mercury Grand Marquis GS
                          What I Help Maintain: 1996 CV / 1988 CV / 1988 Tempo

                          Comment


                            If it smells like syrupy pancakes in the car when you run the heat, your heater core is most likely leaking. Went through that with my Townie a few years ago. Only just got around to replacing it this past August or so. I didn't drive it much at all in the winter and it didn't leak much.

                            The coil springs should be able to maintain ride height, but when working properly, the air shocks help & do the job just fine. They also shouldn't leak very much at all. Once mine adjust for the load, I never hear the compressor again. That's also the great thing about the faux air ride boxes have- you can put all kinds of stuff in the trunk and load up passengers & the car will ride right. Years ago at a meet up I think we crammed three people in the trunk of my TC and then several passengers in the back. It sagged terribly, but once the compressor kicked on, it adjusted the ride height was normal. Had fun when everybody ejected as quickly as possible- the ass of the car shot right in the air for little while until the system bled the excess air off.
                            1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                            1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

                            Comment


                              I wouldn't call it syrupy pancakes, but a very faint, sweet smell. Which could be the start of the heater core leaking. That would certainly make more sense than the scent of coolant at the radiator cap making its way all the way across the engine compartment.

                              I don't have the tool to perform a pressure test, but I'm sure it would fail as I can clearly see drops of coolant from the block freeze plugs. No puddle or drips on the floor yet. I suppose it must be leaking only at temperature.

                              If the heater core is on its way out, would that cause leaking at the cap?
                              1987 Lincoln Town Car - Signature, "Prudence"

                              Comment


                                Originally posted by Lutrova View Post
                                If the heater core is on its way out, would that cause leaking at the cap?
                                A leaky cap will cause a leaky cap. Or massive pressure in the cooling system, but that would have other symptoms aswell.
                                1985 Mercury Grand Marquis LS, "Maisa"
                                1995 Chevrolet Caprice Classic STW, "Sally"

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